1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a vibration damping device for a motor vehicle drive system having a base body rotatable about an axis of rotation and a deflection mass arrangement with at least one deflection mass and a deflection path which is associated with the at least one deflection mass and along which the at least one deflection mass is movable when the base body rotates about the axis of rotation, wherein a movement space in which the at least one deflection mass can move and which is defined by the deflection path associated with the at least one deflection mass is arranged in the base body for the at least one deflection mass.
2. Description of the Related Art
A damping device is disclosed, for example, in German reference DE 44 26 317 A1 having a movement space formed at a carrier part for each deflection mass. The carrier part is connectable with a rotating axle or pin for rotating about an axis of rotation. The movement space is formed by welding a cup-shaped part made of sheet metal to the carrier part after the associated deflection mass has been positioned inside of it. Accordingly, a cup-shaped part of this type must be welded onto the base part separately for every deflection mass, which results in a costly manufacturing process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vibration damping device of the type mentioned above which can be constructed in a simple manner.
According to the invention, this object is met by a vibration damping device, in particular for a drive system of a motor vehicle, comprising a base body which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and a deflection mass arrangement with at least one deflection mass and a deflection path which is associated with the at least one deflection mass and along which the at least one deflection mass can move when the base body rotates about the axis of rotation, wherein a movement space in which the at least one deflection mass can move and which is defined by the deflection path associated with the at least one deflection mass is arranged in the base body for the at least one deflection mass.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the base body comprises a carrier element, a first closure element arranged on a first axial side of the carrier element, and a second closure element arranged on a second axial side of the carrier element. The carrier element has a movement space for the at least one deflection mass. The first closure element is constructed separately from the carrier element and is connected to the carrier element at the first axial side for closing the movement space for the at least one deflection mass in a first axial direction. The second closure element is also constructed separately from the carrier element and is connected to the carrier element for closing the movement space for the at least one deflection mass in a second axial direction.
In this embodiment, the assembly process of the vibration damping device is simplified and the configuration of the vibration damping device made this way is stable because the quantity of structural component parts is appreciably reduced relative to the prior art.
For example, the carrier element with the movement space formed therein for the at least one deflection mass may be formed by a stamping process, preferably from sheet metal.
In this embodiment, either the carrier element or one of the first and second closure element may be constructed for connection at the rotating shaft.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the base body comprises a carrier element and a receiving element which is formed separately from the carrier element and which is arranged at the carrier element. The movement space for the at least one deflection mass is provided in the receiving element. The base body also comprises a first closure element covering at least at a first axial side of the movement space. The first closure element is constructed separately from the receiving element and closes the movement space for the at least one deflection mass at the first axial side. The embodiment also has a very simple construction because it also has a reduced number of parts compared with the prior art.
The receiving element may be formed from plastic such, for example, as fiber-reinforced plastic. To increase the durability of the receiving element when the receiving element is made of plastic, a path element made of a hard material such as sheet steel may be arranged in the movement space for the at least one deflection mass so that the at least one deflection mass is movable along this path element.
Furthermore, a positioning arrangement may be arranged in the base body for providing a predetermined relative positioning of the receiving element and/or of the closure element relative to the carrier element to facilitate assembly. This configuration predetermines the position in which the different parts are joined together and eliminates the requirement for other external positioning presets.
The positioning arrangement may, for example, have at least one positioning projection at the carrier element and/or closure element which engages a positioning recess of the receiving element.
In the second embodiment, the manufacturing process may be further simplified when the receiving element itself forms a second closure element which closes the movement space for the at least one deflection mass at a second axial side and which has, in its radial outer area, the deflection path for the at least one deflection mass.
In particular, the first and/or second closure elements may comprise a sheet metal element formed by shaping.
To increase stability in this case while achieving a simple construction, the second closure element may be supported at the first closure element, at least by portions, via the deflection path which is connected to the second closure element.
Instead of using the receiving element to close the second axial side of the movement space, a very simple construction of the present invention may be achieved in that the carrier element closes the movement space for the at least one deflection mass at the second axial side.
According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a very simply built vibration damper is achieved when the base body has the following component groups: a carrier element, a path arrangement which forms the deflection path for the at least one deflection mass, and a closure element which is formed separately from the carrier element and which closes the movement space for the at least one deflection mass in a first axial direction at least at a first axial side of the path arrangement.
A minimum quantity of parts are used when the carrier element and the path arrangement are constructed as one part together. This may be achieved when the carrier element and path arrangement comprise a cast metal part.
Alternatively, the path arrangement for every deflection mass may comprise a path element, preferably made of sheet steel, which is held between the carrier element and the first closure element. In this way, a material especially suited to the individual path elements may be used and the individual path elements may be subjected to additional treatment steps in a very simple manner. For example, the path elements may be provided with a toothing configuration.
Further, a second closure element may be arranged at least at a second axial side of the path arrangement in the carrier element which closes the movement space for the at least one deflection mass toward the second axial side. Every path element is held between the first and second closure elements. To achieve a stable configuration each path element may comprise an engagement formation by which it is engageable, with the first closure element on the one hand and with the carrier element or the second closure element on the other hand.
For example, the engagement formation can have a plurality of axially extending projections which engage in recesses of different components.
A positioning arrangement may be provided in any of the above embodiments for positioning the first closure element and/or the second closure element at a predetermined location relative to the carrier element.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.